A railway track requires routine maintenance to remain in good working order. Maintenance of the railway track is commonly performed by a variety of specialized maintenance-of-way machines that operate while traveling along the length of the railway track. For example, maintenance-of-way operations performed by machines traveling along the length of the railway track may include distributing track ballast that is deposited between railway ties laid perpendicularly to the railway track, packing the track ballast under the railway track, leveling the track ballast height, shaping the track ballast shoulder, and sweeping the track ballast.
One example of such a maintenance-of-way machine is a ballast regulator. The ballast regulator typically includes an operator cab that houses the controls necessary to operate the machine. The operator cab is supported by a frame that also provides a mounting for an engine, axles, and wheel sets. Located beneath the operator cab is a housing that contains serviceable hydraulics of the ballast regulator. For example, the housing contains a power transmission system, pumps, valves, filters, and fluid. Access to the serviceable hydraulics is regularly necessary to ensure good working order of the ballast regulator. Because the operator cab sits atop the serviceable hydraulics, it can be difficult for an operator to obtain access to the hydraulics area to perform maintenance tasks.
Obtaining access to the serviceable hydraulics of the ballast regulator is generally accomplished by tilting the operator cab at an angle to the frame to expose the serviceable hydraulics. In this position, the operator cab takes up a significant amount of space at the side of the machine toward which the operator cab is tilting. An example of a railway vehicle equipped with a tiltable operator cab is disclosed in German Patent Application No. 19621962A1 to Jacksädt et al. (“Jacksädt”) that published on Oct. 24, 1996.
Although a tilting cab provides adequate access to the space underneath the cab, it may still be less than optimal. This is because conventional cabs tilt in only a single direction and/or at an undesirable angle. Because railway tracks are often positioned parallel to each other, the space at the side of the railway vehicle toward which the driver cab tilts may not always be available. For example, tilting of the driver cab in a particular direction or at a particular angle may be obstructed by other railway vehicles sitting on an adjacent railway track.
The cab assembly of the present disclosure solves one or more of the problems set forth above and/or other problems in the art.